"Hey, Harry, don't be too upset. We'll bring candy back for you from Honeydukes."
"That's right, we'll bring back loads."
In the entrance hall, today was the first Hogsmeade open day of the semester and also Halloween, but Harry still hadn't received permission to go out, so he could only bid farewell to Ron and Hermione at the doorway. By now, the originally crowded hall had mostly cleared out, and Ron and Hermione had to leave now—
There was no other way; the gatekeeper, Mr. Filch, was already quite impatient, his right hand resting on the door, eyes fixed on them.
If Ron and Hermione didn't go now, Filch would probably shut the door and leave.
"Alright, don't worry."
Harry shook his head and tried to speak with a carefree tone, "See you at the banquet tonight, have fun. Besides, I need to go to the library soon to finish my Potions class paper, that old Bat Spirit—"
Snape had been keeping an eye on him ever since that time he'd drunk the potion.
Upon hearing Harry's words, Ron blinked in confusion, wasn't the plan to wait and copy Hermione together? How could his newfound ally betray the revolution like this?
"Uh, are you really going to the library? How about..."
Before Ron could say anything more, Hermione suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes widened in surprise, she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
"Yeah, why..."
"Hey, you kids over there! Are you going or not?!"
Before Harry could nod, Filch's impatient shouting was already heard, accompanied by the creaking of the wooden door, and shadows flickered in the entrance hall—he was ready to close the door.
"Hey, wait! Hermione, we really have to go—"
Ron interrupted their conversation, raised his hand to grab Hermione's arm, and the two quickly ran towards the door, disappearing into the rain amid Filch's grumbling curses.
"…Little brats, trying to sneak away?"
As the castle's front door closed, Filch dealt with the list and walked up to Harry, glaring at the boy in front of him, angrily shouting.
"No, I didn't, I just..." Harry argued loudly.
"Oh, I didn't, just passing by... Hmph, I've seen many slippery kids like you. Alright, off you go, don't let me catch you!"
Filch impatiently cut off Harry's argument, pushing the boy out of the hall, and then ignored Harry, humming a little tune as he walked towards the gatekeeper's lounge in the castle—thanks to Mrs. Loris being in good condition, his mood had been quite good recently, otherwise he wouldn't have let that boy off so easily.
Hmph, with that sneaky demeanor, still saying you're not looking for a chance to sneak away? Ha!
Watching the hall with sparse people, Harry remained silent for a moment, then quickly headed towards the library—in hopes of completing his Astronomy homework, he might find time to help Ron find his rat?
Yes, Scabbers hadn't appeared ever since that morning—even Neville's Trevor hadn't been missing for so long.
Perhaps that rat is probably, maybe, possibly, should be... already dead?
Though rats are indeed quite good at surviving, honestly, the rat named Scabbers was so old, Harry felt like it could kick the bucket any moment.
The wild thoughts in his mind didn't lead Harry astray; having lived in the castle for two and a half years, the boy remembered quite a few commonly walked paths, after all, he wasn't like certain people who are directionless and needed a cat or a Niffler to guide them while roaming the castle.
"Keep quiet—"
Hearing the door open, Madam Pince raised her head and noticed Harry walking into the library, she frowned slightly, puzzled. It was the first Hogsmeade open day of the semester; even if it was raining outside, logically, those playful little wizards wouldn't miss the chance, so why was today so unusual?
However, Madam Pince didn't say much, she just habitually reminded him.
Losing himself in wild thoughts, Harry snapped back to reality, quickly lightening his steps, and quietly walked towards the bookshelves.
"Potions..."
Frowning, Harry scanned countless bookshelves looking for what he needed, but soon, he paused slightly, his eyes involuntarily drawn to the desk wedged between two bookshelves not far away, where two figures were sitting—
It was Senior William, and... Hermione?
"..."
"??"
"???"
Huh?
Harry felt like his brain had exploded, everything peculiar that happened to Hermione recently instantly pieced together in his mind—
She attended every class, yet inexplicably wasn't with him and Ron, often emerged from strange places, only to greet them briefly and disappear again, frequently had conversations that seemed out of sync... everything seemed to lead to one ultimate answer...
Hermione learned the Clone Technique?
Uh, is there such a charm?
Harry scratched his head, hesitating about whether to go over or not.
Meanwhile, noticing Kabuda tug at his sleeve, Harry instinctively followed the direction of its paw, he immediately saw a boy hiding behind the bookshelf biting his finger, his expression slightly stunned. Seeing the boy's expression, William couldn't help but sigh—
"What's wrong?"
Noticing the movement, Hermione lifted her head from the book to look at William and asked softly, her pale face full of confusion.